Another Bradley V.S. Cookshack thread

quote:

Any truth to these issues?

Well, I wouldn't say what they're saying is a lie, it's just a one sided opinion. Not like you're going to see a lot of POSITIVE comments there about CS.

Not really got to let this get into a CS vs XX smoker thing. If they want to do that on their forums, that's fine, there is plenty of misinformation in other forums about CS's, but we're not going down that path

1. First comment is wrong. It's TEMP that is the primary cause rubbery skin, not humidity. Can't get crisp skin at 200. 250 limit on the smaller CS. Not the AQ nor the FE. And, oh, you open the door to let the humidity out. Simple fix. I do it all the time depending on the effects I'm trying to achieve.

2. I think if you go down to the sausage forum here, there are plenty of people making use of CS's for just that. We DO have a sausage forum. If you're trying to cold smoke, there are plenty of ways to do it in a CS. Temp fluctuations don't matter for sausage, it's the high end.


SOAPBOX time....

All I'll say, is that lately, it's getting OLD that people seems to want to knock down other smokers.

Why? Are they so convinced theirs is the right way. Maybe, just maybe we are love our particular brand. Doesn't make someone elses's choice wrong or right. I've certainly cooked on enough smokers I could point out issues on every single smoker out there...but I don't want to make their owners feel bad about their purchase.

Pappy always said, if you can't say something nice....shut up!

1) open door once during cook to release excess steam OR (what I do) broil bird in oven to crisp skin. I thought the soft skin was a product of low temp., not high humidity.

2) plenty of us make summer sausage with no problems to speak of.

3) CS does not use proprietary pucks to smoke. I can use just about any clean, dry wood.

4) the CS has no moving parts to break. I'd like to see the failure rate on the Bradley puck-o-matic.

5) ambient temp. has virtually no effect on the performance of the CS. Weighing in at 133 lbs, my smoker is packed with insulation. If I had success smoking a cut at 225* in the summer, I'll get the same results from my smoker in the winter months.

6) lastly, and most importantly, what kind of name is Bradley anyhow? At some point a man needs to drop the 'ley' and run with 'Brad'. It sounds like a fella who might extend a pinky while dusting his brisket with jasmine and pixie dust...not that there's anything wrong with that.

I just thought I would take a look at a Bradley since they are cheaper and locally available. When I went to the original Bradley forum I noticed that 9 of the 19 posts on the first page were in regards to problems with the unit.

quote:

Originally posted by JustADude:
1) open door once during cook to release excess steam OR (what I do) broil bird in oven to crisp skin. I thought the soft skin was a product of low temp., not high humidity.

2) plenty of us make summer sausage with no problems to speak of.

3) CS does not use proprietary pucks to smoke. I can use just about any clean, dry wood.

4) the CS has no moving parts to break. I'd like to see the failure rate on the Bradley puck-o-matic.

5) ambient temp. has virtually no effect on the performance of the CS. Weighing in at 133 lbs, my smoker is packed with insulation. If I had success smoking a cut at 225* in the summer, I'll get the same results from my smoker in the winter months.

6) lastly, and most importantly, what kind of name is Bradley anyhow? At some point a man needs to drop the 'ley' and run with 'Brad'. It sounds like a fella who might extend a pinky while dusting his brisket with jasmine and pixie dust...not that there's anything wrong with that.

I found the Bradley 'name bashing' quite humorous as over at the Bradley forum somebody was bashing the Cookshack name saying that anything with the word 'shack' in it had to be junk. LOL

quote:

Originally posted by JustADude:

6) lastly, and most importantly, what kind of name is Bradley anyhow? At some point a man needs to drop the 'ley' and run with 'Brad'. It sounds like a fella who might extend a pinky while dusting his brisket with jasmine and pixie dust...not that there's anything wrong with that.

Yuk, yuk...watercress and brisket sandwiches with tea!

This war of words with the Bradley clan may force me to teepee the Bradley factory. Does anyone have enough airline miles to send me and 8 cases of Charmin to China?

Thanks, I'll shut up now.

A friend of mine has a Bradley he loves it.
I have a Cookshack I love mine more.

He has a rubber seal to go bad.
My Cookshack don't need one.

His uses pucks.
I can use any wood I can cut to size (provided it is the right kind to smoke with).

His wife kicked his tempature lever (on the bottom of his machine)and broke it. He fixed it with a little epoxy.
Mine is on the top where I don't have to bend down.

They are both good smokers I just happen to like mine more. :-)

Next thing you guys will bring up their propane model...

My thoughts are pretty basic when these threads come up.

Who am I to say that you spent money on XXX smoker and it's a piece of #$%%. Hey you bought it, good luck using it and I hope it works great for you. No one wants to be told something they spent money on isn't worth it

That's why we love this forum, don't bash other smokers (warning! don't go there) and we try to be supportive. Some in this forum think there is too much of a rah-rah attitude about CS, but maybe that's because the forum members feel that way.

Well said, Russ.

Captain,
Have you thought about going over to a cookshack owners house to look and try one.
There are a ton of them in your area.

Seeing and tasting are beleving......

nuf said!

Swede44mag - very fair post. Thanks for that. Your information is what truly helps consumers make their decision. I too am a CS owner. Have never used a Bradley, so I cannot comment on their effectiveness. I bought my CS 4 years ago, and have zero regrets.

quote:

Originally posted by MountainMan:
Captain,
Have you thought about going over to a cookshack owners house to look and try one.
There are a ton of them in your area.

Seeing and tasting are beleving......

nuf said!

Sounds like a good idea, I'll be waiting for the invite!

IF YOU HAVE A CABELLAS STORE CLOSE TO YOU GO SEE HOW MANY SMOKERS ARE IN THE BARGIN CAVE .AS THEY SELL BOTH BRANDS OF SMOKERS, YOU CAN SEE WICH ONE IS RETURNED THE MOST

I remember on of my higher level managers at a large company I used to work for. You guess the name. He essentially said.. We could afford to give away our printers because of the profits we make on the inkjet cartridges. This follows the razor/razor blade theory. The Bradley may be less expensive.. but, how much will you ultimately spend on the pucks.. If you do much smoking.. you could pay the difference between a plastic mini'refrigerater turned smoker and a real smoker (IMO)

quote:

Originally posted by BRAD S:
IF YOU HAVE A CABELLAS STORE CLOSE TO YOU GO SEE HOW MANY SMOKERS ARE IN THE BARGIN CAVE .AS THEY SELL BOTH BRANDS OF SMOKERS, YOU CAN SEE WICH ONE IS RETURNED THE MOST

Good advice, unfortunately this is Bass Pro country, no Cabellas. I bet I can guess which one would be returned most. When I went on to the Bradley forum the first page had 19 topics and 9 of them were about problems.
I also posted the question over there about what makes Bradley the better choice. One of the guys there said he had a CS and sid it was 'Garbage". I am waiting on an explanation.

I have a Bradley original smoker, no extra bells or whistles. I bought the Bradley strickly on price after reading from both forums. I have no regrets, I beleive the CS is a better made smoker and cheaper to operate.
I've had 3 or 4 charcoal smokers over the last 20 or so years and just got tired of babysitting them to keep the temps right, so I thought I would try and electric type. Again it was just a price thing. I had doubts about using an electric smoker but after using one I love it and wouldn't go back to charcoal. I agree with the folks above about not bashing the other guy or the smoker he uses is it any different than ones preference for automobiles.
Having used the Bradley, if and when I wear it out I probably would buy a CS because I think it is of better quality and I'm convinced electric smoking is the way to go.
I enjoy reading on both forums, there is one heck of a lot of knowledge and experience to be had in both places.

If you got'm smoke'm.

Junkman345

Good Post Junk, thanks for the input.